Transporting hazardous fluids in containers is fraught with the risk that the container may break, allowing the hazardous fluid to enter the environment. To reduce this risk, articles have been designed which protect the container from breakage and, should the container fail, retain the hazardous fluid in the immediate vicinity of the broken container. Polymeric microfibers have been employed in these kinds of articles to protect the container and/or sorb fluid that leaves the container during a breakage. Examples of such articles have been disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 5,029,699; 5,024,865; 4,972,945; 4,964,509; and 4,884,684. Although the articles disclosed in these patents serve the two-fold purpose of protecting the container and retaining any escaped fluid, the articles are relatively bulky and rigid in construction and therefore lack the versatility and conformability necessary to allow them to be used for protecting containers of a variety of shapes and sizes.